Vendor Information

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How to Do Business with The City Of Frederick

Depending on the year, the City of Frederick can have between 20 and 30 million dollars in “controllable” spending in its budget. The resulting contracting opportunities extend beyond just construction, and include many professional services (such as engineering, consultants, and graphic design) as well as general services (such as heating/ventilation/air conditioning [HVAC], cleaning, maintenance, and painting).

Specific City procurement procedure is dependent upon the dollar-amount of the service/product being requested. As a general overview, contracts are separated into three pricing brackets:

  • Over $50,000 - Services or products sought over this mark are required to go through a formal solicitation process. The opportunities are placed online on both the City supplier portal and on E-Maryland Marketplace. They are also placed in the local newspaper in the legal ads. Each individual announcement includes a link to the necessary attachments/forms to bid on the opportunity. There is some variability in the length the opportunity is posted, but typically the requests remain open for about 4 weeks.
  • $10,000 to $50,000 - Services or products sought within this price range require Departments to follow competitive pricing policies and obtain at least three written quotes prior to contract.
  • Under $10,000 - These "small dollar" opportunities are made at the purchasing discretion of the interested Department.

New Vendor Registration

All businesses that wish to work with the City of Frederick must complete an online Supplier Registration Form. Once complete, registered vendors will have the ability to submit bid packages for any open solicitations. 

Existing Vendors

Vendors already registered with the City can at any time update their information or add certifications by logging in to the City supplier portal and updating their profile. 

Guidelines

The following policies have been established as guidelines for these services:

  • Discrimination against business by reason of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any other legally protected group is prohibited.
  • The City of Frederick's Ethics Ordinance, Chapter 21 of the Frederick City Code, shall govern all employee relations with vendors and those organizations under contract with the city.
  • The Purchasing Department may consider any evidence available regarding the financial, technical, and other qualifications and abilities of a bidder, including past performance (experience) with the city, in awarding a contract in order to best serve the interest of the city and the taxpaying citizens.

Local Preference Policy

In evaluating any competitive solicitation, the City will grant City businesses a preference in relation to the proposed quoted cost or bid amount. The preference is only used for computational purposes to determine the winning bid or proposal, and has no bearing on the actual purchase price or cost to the City. The preference given to City Businesses is 10 percent of the lowest quote or responsible bid, not to exceed $100,000.